


Strike

by olddarkmachine



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Flirting, M/M, Sparring, cana and gray are kids, human bowling, silver and gildarts are sparring for their kids' honor, sparring always leads to a good time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 08:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13994514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olddarkmachine/pseuds/olddarkmachine
Summary: “Thanks, sweetheart, that’s—”They turned the corner and stepped through the sliding doors into the sparring room that they’d had reserved, only to see that they weren’t the first to arrive. A single, sharp breath tore through his lips as his dark eyes landed on a wide, strong back.“Reassuring,” Gildarts finished flatly as the man turned around, an inky eyebrow raising in question beneath a scar that ran from his hairline to the corner of his left eye. That was new, but the cocky smirk that broke his features, was not.Silver.Only, a much larger, heavily muscled version of the kid he had known in his youth. A quiver of something dark shot through his gut as he watched the other man cross his toned arms across his chest.





	Strike

**Author's Note:**

> A hella belated birthday present for the fabulous [smartcookie727](https://smartcookie727.tumblr.com/) :3

_Human bowling._

That’s why Gildarts was here.

Because his daughter, light of his life and current bane of his existence, decided that human bowling was a good idea.

“Couldn’t have played some other game, like hide and seek or tag, could ya, kid?” He sighed as they stepped over the threshold of the gym, the sharp tang of sweat bombarding them instantly. Cana, to her credit, at least tried to look apologetic.

Of course, he knew his daughter better than that, especially with the way her little mouth struggled to stay downturned at its edges. But hey. At least she was trying.

“Gray was the one that suggested it,” she said with a touch of a whine in her voice, her lip jutting outward in a forced pout. It pulled at his heartstrings, even if he knew it was all for show. Cana was too smart for her own good, and she knew just how to play her father, much to his chagrin.

Metal clanged around them as they walked past various gym goers, most barely paying them any mind as they went by. Normally, the gym would feel like home.

Today, it felt like he was walking the green mile.

“He suggested you throwing a giant inflatable tire at him?” Gildarts asked blandly, not truly expecting an answer from his daughter, who looked up at him with a bright glint of something nefarious burning deep in her eyes.

“Yep!” She said happily, a smile finally cracking through her facade with all the brightness of the sun. It was a thing of pure, unadulterated joy that Gildarts would happily burn heaven and earth down for, or less dramatically, spar another parent for.

When he’d first received the phone call, he had thought it was a prank. The gruff voice on the other end had calmly introduced itself as Silver Fullbuster, Gray’s dad. It had then gone on to say that he challenged Gildarts to a sparring session in order to defend his son’s honor. Or something to that effect. Honestly, he hadn’t been listening, instead Gildarts had laughed, agreed, hung up, and then promptly forgot about the whole thing.

Well, had forgotten until that morning when Cana had reminded him over their morning pancakes that she was ready to watch him kick Gray’s dad’s butt.

 _Why do I need to kick his butt?_ He’d asked preoccupied by the coffee he was pouring into his mug.

 _Because you told him you would_ , she’d said matter-of-factly around a mouthful of pancake.

 _No I didn’t_ , he’d said as he began to shovel sugar into his cup.

 _Well he said he’d kick yours_. Another bite of pancake.

 _And why would he say that?_  A small sip of his coffee.

 _Because Gray was the pin during human bowling_. And then he’d choked.

“Don’t worry dad, I’ve seen Gray’s dad, you’re definitely going to win,” Cana said in what he could only assume was supposed to be a soothing manner as she tapped his forearm with a small hand.

He had also seen Gray’s dad, but it had been 15 years ago and something told him the scrawny boy he’d known in high school had grownup.

“Thanks, sweetheart, that’s—”

They turned the corner and stepped through the sliding doors into the sparring room that they’d had reserved, only to see that they weren’t the first to arrive. A single, sharp breath tore through his lips as his dark eyes landed on a wide, strong back.

“Reassuring,” he finished flatly as the man turned around, an inky eyebrow raising in question beneath a scar that ran from his hairline to the corner of his left eye. That was new, but the cocky smirk that broke his features, was not.

Silver.

Only, a much larger, heavily muscled version of the kid he had known in his youth. A quiver of something dark shot through his gut as he watched the other man cross his toned arms across his chest.

“My dad’s gonna beat yours up, Cana!” A small voice piped up, pulling Gildarts’ attention from the hard lines of Silver’s forearms to the kid peeking around him. Gray looked every bit the man’s son, right down to the angry eyebrows and his unruly black hair.

“Shut up, Gray!” Cana piped up, thrusting a finger toward the boy with more ferocity than really necessary. “I’ll get the tire!”

Dread leeched the color from Gray’s face as he stuck his tongue out and mimicked his fathers cross armed stance. For a brief, solitary moment, the room filled with silence as the four of them exchanged looks before a boisterous peal of laughter shattered the quiet.

“You’ve got a firecracker there, huh,” Silver said around his mirth, his wide shoulders shaking with it.

“Yeah, I don’t know where she gets that from,” Gildarts said flatly, ignoring the way his heart leapt at the sound of the other man’s laughter. Something about it was etching sharp lines in the bone that caged it, and he didn’t quite want to think about what exactly that meant.

He also didn’t want to think about just how nice his mouth looked shaped around that laughter.

“I’m sure,” the other man replied, his tone colored with teasing as he cocked his head, his black eyes tracking Gildarts’ body, leaving heated lines in their wake.

It took far longer than it should have for him to realize the sharp intake of breath had been his own.

“It’s good to see you again, Silver,” he managed, not truly grasping how much he’d actually meant it until the words fell from his lips. They had been friends once upon a time. All through high school they had been been jointly known as the school terrors. Silver would supply the smarts to their plans, and Gildarts the muscle, making them an unstoppable force whenever it came to harmless pranks and the occasional bout of vigilante justice.

Then life happened and they went their separate ways.

It wasn’t a particularly exciting a story, or even a new one by any standards, and Gildarts had honestly forgotten just how good of a friend Silver had been. The past dredged itself back up within the last couple of months, especially after Cana had come home one day to announce that a new kid had been moved into her class with the last name Fullbuster. But even then it hadn’t all come back to him until the man himself was standing in front of him.

Worst of all, standing in front of him now built like a brick house.

Silver’s answering smile was downright predatory as he took a step forward onto the mats.

“Likewise,” he said lowly, a deep growl curling the edges of the word in a way that sent heat racing up towards Gildarts’ cheeks.

“Dad,” Cana whined, dragging out the ‘a’ in a comical way as she pushed at his arm. “Just get it over with!”

“Yeah, dad,” Gray agreed, bobbing his head up and down. “I’m hungry, just show him who’s boss.”

“They’re pushy, huh?” Silver asked, his brow arching as he unwound his arms and lifted them in an exaggerated shrug. His mouth suddenly ran dry as he watched the way the other man’s tank top stretched across his abs with the movement.

“Guess we better do this.”

This, of course, was the sparring match they’d agreed on, and yet it took all of three seconds for Gildarts’ brain to catch up as it instead sent a spike of something a couple degrees shy of full blown desire down into his gut.

Shaking his head gently to banish the sudden thought of bare skin and heavy breaths, he pushed Cana towards the short bleachers that stood at the end of the room.

“Rules?” He asked as he pulled his hoodie over his head, the fabric obscuring his vision so that he missed the flash of Silver’s eyes as they found the sliver of skin exposed beneath the hem of his undershirt.

Dropping it on the ground with the soft rustle of fabric, he eyed Silver as he urged his son toward the same bleachers that Cana sat on. Gently, he crossed an arm across his chest and folded the other over its forearm in an easy stretch. 

“Best two out of three?” Silver asked, his look somehow darker as he watched Gildarts stretch. “No crotch shots, but all else is free game. Sound good?”

 _All else is free game_. The words sent a thrill rolling down his spine with the same ferocity of a tsunami as he folded forward to stretch the back of his legs and also hide the way his face flushed once more. Something about the way Silver had said it made them sound more ominous than anything.

“Yeah,” he replied, praying the other dad didn’t hear the strain in the word as he came back up.   Not that Gildarts had ever been known for his ability to feel shame, something that Cana could attest to, but he still felt the strange burn of embarrassment at his own voice.

Which was just another thing on a growing list of things he really didn’t want to think about.

Shaking his wrists out and hopping in place, Gildarts fell back into an easy stance with his fists braced up in front of his face. It was pose he was used to, one that called back to an older time, and from the Silver’s eyes widened minutely, he could tell the other man could read the throwback in the pose.

“Alright,” he said as he moved closer, stopping just feet away before he adopted the same pose. From over his fists, Gildarts could see the way his eyes sparkled with a deep burning fire.

“Let’s do this.”

Neither man made a move as they studied each other, tension running through them like a taut wire and heat building in the space between them. Gildarts let his eyes wander across the expanse of Silver’s face, noting the way it had hardened over the years. His jaw was nothing but hard lines and sharply squared points, dusted with stubble and set with decision. The scar that marred his skin was obviously old, the edges of it faded enough into the rest of his skin that it looked almost like it belonged. It gave him a fearsome look, which almost seemed oxymoronic given the kid he had been.

Not that Silver had ever needed protecting, but he didn’t where the chip on his shoulder quite in the same way Gildarts had. It had lulled others into a false sense of security when they saw him. Made them think he would be a good target.

Clearly, that wasn’t the case anymore.

A hand shot out towards Gildarts, clutching at the front of his shirt as Silver pushed forward. Using that momentum and the element of surprise, he knocked his feet from beneath him until he was suddenly on his back. The shock of it knocked the breath from his lungs as he felt the edge of Silver’s knuckles push into his sternum as he leant in over him. Pulse racing loudly in his ears, Gildarts watched as he came closer, his eyes indecisive on whether to look him in the eye or stare at his slightly parted lips.

“One for me, Gildarts,” he hummed, his breath tickling across his face and carrying the scent of wintermint. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft on me.”

Very far from it, he thought to himself before swallowing down the innuendo.

“Just testing you, Silver,” Gildarts said instead, pushing the man away as he sat up. “It won’t happen again.”

Quickly, they reset themselves, falling back into the same poses if just a couple more feet apart than before. Silver bit his teeth into his bottom lip as he waited, drawing Gildarts’ attention back down. It was nothing more than a brief flicker, but he took advantage of it all the same, moving forward with the same speed as before.

Stepping back quickly, Gildarts pulled himself to the side, snapping his own hand forward to wrap around Silver’s wrist as it went past and using that force of his moving body against him as he wrenched his arm behind his back. Using that leverage, Gildarts spun them as he kicked at Silver’s ankle and knocked his knee into the back of the other man’s.

“Oh, c’mon dad!” He barely heard Gray cry from the sidelines as he pushed them both down onto the mat, his chest falling flush with Silver’s back. Each breath the other man took pushed up against him, and suddenly, Gildarts was all too aware of the way he was straddling one of Silver’s legs.

“One for me, Silver,” he mimicked, leaning down close to his ear in a show of feigned dominance as if his heart wasn’t beating triple time in his chest. The upper hand was his for just a moment before he felt Silver move beneath him, his hips rolling upward into his groin and pulling a startled sound trapped between a gasp and a moan from his behind his teeth. His hold automatically slackened as he pulled back enough to see the grin that upturned Silver’s lips as he looked over his shoulder at him.

“You sure about that?” He asked before pushing up and back. Gildarts barely moved quick enough to get out of his way before his old friend was climbing back up to his feet and offering him a hand.

“That’s one-to-one,” Silver said, more for their audience than for him as he pulled Gildarts up. If he noticed the electric zing that shot through their palms on contact, he made no show of it as he fell back into his readied stance.

Gildarts had felt it though. It was a sharp shock that ran up his arm, through his nerves and right to his heart where the beating muscle stalled just long enough for him to question if it would ever start back up again. That burning edge of almost desire exploded into fully actualized want as he dragged his stare up Silver’s body.

“You’re gonna win, dad!” Cana screamed, pulling him back down to Earth long enough for him to catch the other man push forward once more. Only this time, he went low, his eyes on Gildarts’ midsection as he went for a tackle. Arms wrapping around his waist, Gildarts allowed himself to be pushed back and threw his own momentum behind it to throw Silver off balance just enough that he could push him over the top of his head as he landed on his back.

It wasn’t a clean move by any means, but it was enough to get the other man off him. Scrambling back up to his feet, he noted that it took just a moment longer for Silver to follow suit, a mix of awe and dazed confusion twisting his mouth.

“Nice moves,” he growled as he reset, licking a line across his bottom lip.

“Yours aren’t so bad either,” Gildarts huffed, this time making the first move. Punching a fist forward, he expected Silver to evade to the side so that he could move himself behind the man and wrap his arm around his throat. It would be quick, clean and efficient.

Only, he didn’t do that. Instead, Silver moved into the punch, his fingers brushing down his arm as he brought them chest-to-chest. He had seconds to calculate the move as fingers closed around his wrist and shoved it upward, turning around him as he pulled it down behind Gildarts’ head.

Shoulder protesting the sudden change in position, he tried to follow the motion and unwind his arm only to find himself pushed to the side as Silver stepped away.

“You’re looking good, Gildarts,” he said through his breaths as he fell back into his stance, watching carefully as the brunette sat back into his. A single crack of lightning split across his chest as he bit back a small sound of amusement. He was a grown ass man, he refused to believe he’d preen over a small compliment.

“Flattery won’t make me go easy on you,” he replied, taking to quick steps forward but making no actual move to swipe at him.

“Didn’t want you to.” The words were accompanied by a shrug before Silver made his move, closing the distance between them and fisting his hands within the fabric of his shirt once more. Time stood still as heat came crashing down on his head, his vision filling with nothing else but the onyx of Silver’s eyes.

Then, Gildarts was pitching forward as Silver fall back, pulling him along with him until they landed on the mat in a pile of limbs.

“Yeah, dad!” Cana cried as he tried to push himself off Silver, only to find himself trapped against his chest by the hold on his shirt. Her voice faded as she continued to speak as he stared down at the man beneath him. This close, he could see the light speckling of freckles dusting his nose.

“What—” he started, not entirely sure what he was going to say. He wasn’t entirely sure what was happening at all.

Electricity popped beneath his skin as Silver moved up quickly, brushing his lips across Gildarts’ before dropping his head back down onto the mat.

“Looks like you got me,” he said, weighing the words with double meaning as he stared up through his lashes. Against his chest, Gildarts could feel the steady beat of Silver’s heart.

Or maybe, that was just the echo of his own.

Frantically pulling air into his lungs, he tried to steady himself as Silver waited, watching him carefully as he waited for some kind of response. Searching for something acceptable, Gildarts could only hear what sounded like the faint hum of his own mind shattering beneath the weight of what happened.

“Dad!” Gray’s loud whine cut through the din of his thoughts, dropping him back into his current situation and location, which was still stretched over the top of Silver.

“Sorry, bud,” Silver called off to the side, his gaze never leaving Gildarts’ as he spoke. “Looks like Mr. Clive bested me.”

Each of his words dripped with something else, the truth of it lost to their children, but all too apparent in the space between them.

It may have looked like Gildarts had the upper hand, but the real winner here was the one on his back.

Turning his attentions back to him, Silver flashed a quick smile as he tilted his chin upwards.

“Can I call you, sometime?” His eyes sparkled in a way that stalled Gildarts’ breath in his lungs. “So we can catch up?”

The answer, was yes. He could call him sometime. He could call him anytime. Hell, if he wanted to he could walk out of the gym and call him now. Gildarts couldn’t say as much though. So instead, he settled for a slow nod.

“Yeah,” he said lowly, the corners of his mouth twitching upward of their own accord.

“Good,” Silver said, relief flooding his voice as he loosened his grip on Gildarts’ shirt. Pulling away finally, he rolled off him, ignoring the way his legs were shaking as he stood. Offering a hand down to Silver, he pulled the other man to his feet. And if he let his hand linger in Silver’s, well, no one really needed to know that.

The pop of electricity snapped in the space between them as they held each others gazes, both waiting for the other to say something first. It wasn’t until Gray made his way over that Silver finally broke the contact.

“Let’s go dad, I’m hungry,” he said loudly, his small hands holding onto their stuff as he looked down at the mat. The poor kid looked more defeated than his father as he kicked at nothing in particular.

“Alright buddy, we’ll get going,” he said happily, ruffling the dark hair atop his head until it stuck up every which way. Looking up from his son, he gave Gildarts a quick nod.

“I’ll talk to you later, then.”

And then he was heading towards the door, leading his son away.

Doubling over, Gildarts let go of a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. Breathing in for four and out, he tried to fill his burning lungs.

“See dad,” Cana said as she skipped over to where Gildarts stood with his hands on his knees and his eyes on Silver’s back. “I told you you’d win!”

In that moment, Silver cut his glance back over his shoulder, a sharp smirk working itself into the corner of his mouth before he dropped a deathly wink. His heart gave an obscene flip as it pushed itself up onto his tongue at the gesture. It continued its erratic beat as Silver turned his attention back to the door as he dropped his hand onto his son’s shoulder before they disappeared through the sliding glass.

“Dad?” Cana said, gripping his arm and giving him a quick shake.

“Yeah,” he breathed, unable to tear his look away from the gleam of the doors. “Yeah, sweetheart. I sure did.”

If only she knew just how much he’d won.

*************


End file.
